Unlikely Alliance
by Deona Lindholm
Summary: [Ingame, SPOILERS for the ending] Everyone knows what happens to Guy at the Spa in Keterburg.  How about the view from the pranksters themselves?  Announcement in Author's Notes!  R&R please!


_Unlikely Alliance_

_Summary: Everyone knows what happens to Guy at the Spa in Keterburg. How about the view from the pranksters themselves?_

_A.N.: This takes place late in-game. Although it can be done sooner, I chose for the purposes of this fic for it to happen shortly before going to the Radiation Gate. Also, a huge thanks to my 2 Beta-readers, Bakura'sGirl88 and K'Arthur!_

_Also, thanks to the reviews so far, this will no longer be a one-shot, but will have a sequel story to it. Hmm, wonder what the next "joint experiment" is gonna be...?_

It was a very rare time, indeed.

Tear, Anise and Natalia were in one section of the spa in Keterburg, splashing a bit in the water and chatting. In another section, Guy and Luke were resting in chairs, while Jade was laying on one of the bed-like platforms. The Colonel had been thinking, at first, about a nap. That changed, though, when he heard Luke ask the servant-turned-noble a question.

"Hey Guy," the red-headed noble was asking, with a slight tone of mischief to his voice that Jade picked up on right away, "you have a hard time around girls, right? Would you be okay with looking at them in swimsuits?"

"What the hell? Luke, that was a phobia caused by when my sister was killed. I like women just fine, and I like seeing them in swimsuits."

Jade turned his head towards Luke and Guy. The replica and the Colonel caught each other's glance after the latter asked, "Oh, is that so? Interesting. Then shall we perform a test, Luke?"

_Ohh, this is gonna be fun!_ Luke thought as he grinned. For a moment, both he and Jade had the exact same mischievous glint in their eyes and smirk on their faces.

Out loud, the younger one replied. "Good idea. Guy, try this!"

The three of them got up and walked near the ladies. While Luke and Guy stood on the paved, circular walkway, Jade was near a door, casually opening it as though he were taking a break.

When Guy was close to the edge, where the three females were chatting, Luke took the opportunity to kick his friend in the legs. It wasn't enough to cause any physical damage...but it was enough for the hapless blonde to fall into the water, on his back...

...and right into the middle of where Natalia, Anise and Tear were standing.

Luke quickly scurried through the door that had been opened, the one that led to the changing rooms, then closed it just as fast.

Jade reopened it very slightly as a chorus of screams began, then put a finger to his lips in a keep-quiet gesture.

Luke nodded and listened from his own position.

"Agh! Get your hands _away_ from there!"

"H-Hey! Stop! Don't touch me!" they could hear Guy yelp.

"...the one touching us!"

Luke looked over to Jade, whose smirk was growing wider by the second. The replica had to admit, this was pretty funny.

Then they heard the sounds from a little girl...namely, Anise. "Ack! Guy! Hey!", followed by a shocked gasp from Tear.

"Wish I could see what's going on," Luke muttered.

"Nah, ah ah! Listening is better from here, trust me," Jade replied in a quiet voice, with a devious chuckle in his tone.

"What do you think you were doing? You pulled my swimsuit loose!" Natalia was asking angrily.

"N-Not me! L-Luke kicked me in here," he explained, "and Jade, he..."

There was a moment of silence before they heard Tear say, suspiciously, "I don't see Luke or the Colonel anywhere..."

There was a growl before they heard Guy say, "...those bastards..."

Luke was grinning from ear to ear, while Jade's crimson eyes twinkled with delight.

One of the women, most likely Tear, continued, "Although, I can't imagine Guy, of all people, faking an accident because he wanted to touch our breasts."

"I suppose that's true."

Anise asked, "So, you felt both of them up, huh?"

Luke looked at Jade, puzzled, and mouthed the question: _What's she mean, felt them up?_

The Necromancer mouthed back: _Later._

"I-I'm sorry..." the Malkuthian noble stammered.

Jade frowned slightly, then seemed to perk up when he heard Anise ask, "So, whose were bigger?"

Guy replied, "W-well Tear's, I guess."

"Guy!" Natalia and Tear snapped.

"Ohh, this is funny," Luke managed to say quietly.

"Hah hah hah...yes, it is. It seems he never did learn when to not answer a woman's question," Jade replied.

Luke broke out into a fit of giggles. Jade made no sound, but his shoulders were shaking in silent laughter.

"...uh, well, s-she asked..."

"Yeah, well, of course Tear would be the biggest out of this group," the little girl was remarking.

"Enough of that."

There was a small whine to the child's voice as she said, "There's no way I could win."

There was a nervous laugh from Guy, then he said, "Well, yeah, you don't have any at all, Anise."

The red-head gaped at that for a moment, then had to slap a hand over his mouth. The Necromancer, for his part, was chuckling, even with the shoulders shaking.

_This is getting funnier by the minute! Now I know how Jade feels when he's playing one of his pranks!_

Anise made a sound that she normally did when she was really furious, forgetting to even "boo" the gynophobic.

"Guy, you're horrible," Tear snapped, splashing as though she was moving.

"Indeed! I thought that at least you were a gentleman, but I see that I was horribly mistaken!" Natalia agreed, sounding furious as well.

"You big perv!" Anise shrieked and sounded like she was moving as well.

"I should learn to keep my mouth shut!" Guy groaned, then could be heard yelping out loud.

At that, Jade said to Luke in low tones, "Let's get us some food, shall we, and quickly?"

"Better change first!" the younger one replied in a similar manner, trying not to laugh much, and failing fast.

"Right!" the older man replied, and the two went to change. Once they had, Jade grabbed Luke's wrist in a firm, yet not-harsh grip. The two sped off for the second floor, both laughing quietly.

0000000000

"Ohhh, that was really funny!" Luke said, laughing. He and Jade were in the restaurant, sitting at a table together. The two of them had just ordered from the menus and the younger one now cracked up on what he and the Necromancer had just pulled.

"Yes, it was. I'm quite surprised."

"'Bout what?"

"That the two of us pulling off an 'experiment' like that would be this enjoyable."

"Yeah. I see why you love playing pranks on everyone that you trust."

"Now, now...what makes you think that I trust anyone in this group enough to 'play pranks'? Or that I do such a thing in the first place?"

"Yeah, yeah," Luke replied with a grin, "You're a straight-laced, serious-to-the bone officer."

"Indeed I am. Although..."

"Yeah, Jade?"

"Perhaps after we stop Van's scheme and save Auldrant..."

"Hm?"

"We should do another joint experiment on one of the others."

_Pull another prank together, you mean?_ Luke thought, but replied, "Sounds like fun! Might want to pull it on_all_ of the others, though."

"My, my, a challenge, from you? This will be interesting."

"Gives us something to look forward to after we come back from Eldrant."

"You do know, though, that Guy will most likely come after you for revenge."

"After you too, you know!"

"Whatever for? I'm not the one who kicked the poor soul into the middle of the females."

Before Luke could come up with a witty retort to that, the blonde-headed noble came in, expression unreadable. He certainly looked like he had been attacked by a certain trio of angry women. As soon as he saw Luke and Jade sitting at a table together, he walked over to them casually, as though nothing was wrong.

As soon as the former manservant knew that he was within earshot, his expression darkened as he said, "You'll pay for this. _Both_ of you."

The two others managed to look innocent...although on Luke, it wasn't a perfect expression.

Guy's expression shifted as he sighed and walked away. "Those two...I swear, they're like kids in a prank shop!"

Behind the blonde's back, Luke broke into another small fit of giggles, while Jade looked as though he was business as usual, smirk included.

Except for the merry twinkle in the crimson eyes and the slight shake to his shoulders in silent laughter, that is.

_Now I really wanna take down Van quickly,_ Luke thought.

_Hmm, I must admit, I am looking forward to the next joint 'experiment' that we begin,_ Jade thought_, I just hope that I'm wrong about what might happen to Luke..._

Times such as this were extremely rare...although the planned 'joint experiment' didn't happen...on account of Luke staying behind to free Lorelei and disappearing into the core.


End file.
